By Uche Mbah
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, blamed the insecurity in the the West African Region, which spread, badly, to Nigeria on the crisis in Libya, which resulted in the horrendous murder of its President, Muammar Gaddafi. Its result, he said, was the movement of arms across the borders.
Buhari also says he is “thinking very hard” about the menace that has become kidnapping, promising to support the Military to route out the kidnappers and bandits from their hideouts.
He spoke at a meeting with Governors from the 36 states of the Federation Tuesday.
“We are thinking very hard on the issue of kidnapping. We will make it possible for the military to get to the bandits and kidnappers and eliminate them,” adding that the closure of land borders was geared towards the fight against banditry and the smuggling of drugs and guns. According to him, the Military will get the support they need.
Critics have slammed Buhari’s Government for closing Southern Borders, and leaving the North open. Bandits come from the Northern borders, they reasoned.
He, surprisingly, gave his administration thumbs up for containing insecurity, the suprise being that the impression is that insecurity has since worsened in Nigeria, and has reached an unprecedented level
But the President said: “Now that the message has sunk in with our neighbors, we are looking into reopening the borders as soon as possible,” the President said.
Continuing, hr said, “I am not going to the public to speak about the vehicles and equipment we have ordered. What I can say is that the military received armored cars and other equipment. More of such equipment, including military aircraft, will come in.”
“The sub-region is no longer safe, more so with the collapse of the former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi’s regime and the cross border movement of weapons and criminals.
“Governors must work with traditional rulers. Try and work with traditional rulers to boost intelligence gathering.”
Buhari then told the Governors that his administration had performed creditably well in the North East and South-South, but that the The South-South situation was still worrisome.
“Every day I get situation reports about illegal refineries and the blowing up of pipelines. You must stop local rogues from sabotaging oil installations.”
“We do not stop anyone from demonstrating, but you don’t set up roadblocks and smashing windscreens. Which government will allow that?”
President Buhari took a swipe at CNN and BBC, for not talking of the number of policemen killed, police stations razed, and the prisons that were thrown open for inmates to escape during the #endsars protests. He said no responsible government can allow anything like #endsars to happen. “Democracy does not mean confusion or lack of accountability,” he said.
“I was disgusted by the coverage, which did not give attention to the policemen that were killed, the stations that were burnt, and prisons that were opened. (They said we are all at fault. We don’t have the sympathy of anyone. We are on our own).”
On the eight-month-long strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, the President blamed lecturers for not taking into consideration the larger challenges facing the country.
“Government conceded something. The problem is that they refused to look at the problem of the whole country. The Minister of Labour is working hard at it. It is amazing how ASUU will stay out of classrooms for so long. There’s a need for our elites to understand the challenges facing the country.”
